Officials: man suspected of rape stabs self, deputy

Officers were servig warrant*

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier & Press
A St. Mary's LifeFlight helicopter departs with a man who police say stabbed himself multiple times and who allegedly cut a Posey County sheriff's deputy while being served an arrest warrant in Posey County on Thursday afternoon.

Brandon McManomy

POSEY COUNTY, Ind. - ST. PHILIP, Ind. — A 24-year-old Posey County man facing a rape charge in Kentucky allegedly stabbed himself and a Posey County deputy sheriff Thursday afternoon when two officers tried to serve an arrest warrant on him.

Brandon McManomy was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center by LifeFlight helicopter for treatment of serious injuries, said Sgt. Todd Ringle of the Indiana State Police.

Posey County Sheriff's Deputy Dan Montgomery suffered a cut to the face in the incident that occurred at 1:30 p.m. Ringle said Montgomery was taken to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville for treatment of what was believed to be a minor injury.

"The two officers went to the residence at 10700 Yellow Leaf Drive where they were let in by family members," Ringle said. "It became clear to the officers that Brandon McManomy did not want to go to jail. He grabbed a 4-inch knife and started to stab himself in the face and neck."

Ringle said officers used a Taser on McManomy, but he kept swinging the knife. After hitting Montgomery in the face, McManomy was hit with the Taser a second time.

Ringle said Montgomery "was bleeding a lot, but he was talking with officers. We think he'll be OK."

Posey County Prosecutor Travis Clowers said his office helped police obtain a search warrant for the home in the Woodland Court Subdivision in the northern part of the county. He said he was uncertain whether local charges will be filed.

Ringle believes the officers "probably saved the suspect's life. They are very limited in what they can do in that kind of situation. If not for the Taser, they couldn't do much until the man quit stabbing himself and went unconscious."

Police said McManomy was wanted for violating the terms of his release from jail on bond in Calloway County, Ky., which is home to Murray State University.

McManomy faces charges of rape, sodomy, kidnapping, attempted assault and violating an order of probation issued in Indiana, according to an official in the Commonwealth Attorney's Office in Calloway County.

The charges stemmed from an Aug. 31 incident in Murray, Ky. He was arrested on that charge on Sept. 2 in Vanderburgh County.

According to Kentucky court records, the alleged victim in the rape case testified to a grand jury that she dated McManomy in 2009, but after he allegedly tried to sexually assault her, she obtained an emergency protective order against him.

But she told a grand jury that she agreed to meet McManomy at the university's Stewart Stadium parking lot after receiving several text messages from him.

She said she got in his truck, and after he refused to let her out, he drove to a Best Western hotel where they struggled in his vehicle after he took her cell phone and pointed a knife at her. After driving around, he returned to the hotel and made her go into the room.

She testified that McManomy put a blanket over her head, bound her hands and raped her. He then took her back to her car and promised not to contact her again, she said.

McManomy had been free since Oct. 1 after posting $100,000 cash bond, according to the Calloway County Clerk's Office.

But a warrant was issued for his arrest for violating the conditions of his bond, which included having no contact with the alleged victim or her family, no alcohol or drug use, no new arrests and requirements to periodically report to probation officials.

McManomy was scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 14 in Kentucky and was to stand trial there on June 7.

McManomy has a lengthy record of criminal charges, according to Vanderburgh County court records.

In April 2009, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge and was fined a dollar, after initially being arrested on a resisting law enforcement charge in October 2008.

In December 2007, he was charged with attempted theft, criminal mischief and public intoxication. But he received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to the criminal mischief and public intoxication charges, and being ordered to repay an alleged victim. Also in December 2007, two felony theft charges against him were dismissed.

In October 2006, he was arrested and accused of dragging an Indiana State trooper while speeding away during a traffic stop. That incident occurred after police were called to a home in Newburgh where McManomy allegedly broke a window, despite a protective order barring him from being on the property.

The trooper stopped him 20 minutes later near Burkhardt Road and Virginia Street in Evansville. McManomy refused to get out of his car and sped off, dragging the trooper a short distance. The trooper was treated at a hospital and released.